


Kitsitting & Kitwandering

by Dragon_Writes



Series: Uncle Jayfeather Chronicles [2]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Cinderheart is the only one with common sense, F/M, How Do I Tag, I thought it was really cool so I hope I've done it justice, It's difficult lol, Lionblaze is a worried father and Jayfeather feels guilty, Me trying to give these characters a personality, So thanks to Featherlove for the idea!, There's a lot of pov's for his apparently, Uncle Jayfeather, this is a mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-11-18 13:03:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18121271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragon_Writes/pseuds/Dragon_Writes
Summary: "Can you look after the kits for me and Cinderheart?""I'm sorry, what?""Come on, please, Jay?""...fine."Jayfeather babysits for Lionblaze and Cinderheart so they can go to the gathering, and things go downhill right from the moment he agrees.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this idea was from Featherlove! Thank you so much for the comment and idea, I hope you enjoy this I guess? Comments for ideas are very much appreciated, or even some constructive criticism can make my day, now on to the story!

‘How did I get myself into this situation?’ Jayfeather thought to himself. A small, fluffy body crashed against his side, and another batting against his side. Letting out a hiss of frustration at the kits’ antics, the only thought keeping him somewhat sane in the cramped nursery was how he would claw his brother’s ears off.

“Cinderheart and I want to go to the gathering together, but we can’t leave the kits alone, so can you please look after them?” Lionblaze had said. Jayfeather didn’t know why he agreed, and it was beyond him why they didn’t just ask Daisy when that was her literal job, nut he had and now he was trapped with his two nieces and nephew until his brother returned.

‘StarClan save me,’ he grumbled as Hollykit and Sorrelkit clambered over him, the two she-kits’ squeals of laughter grating on his ears. At least Fernkit was calm, curled up nearby and presumably watching his sisters’ tustle.

“Alright, that’s enough,” he snapped as Hollykit kicked his side, standing and shaking out his thin grey pelt as though it would do anything. Turning back to the three kits, he gazed sightlessly at them, tail tip twitching in irritation. “I have work to do,” he said, “Now the three of you are to behave yourselves and go to sleep. StarClan knows how you’re still awake, but it’s almost moonhigh.” He wasn’t sure if that estimate was correct, but all he cared about at that moment was getting his brother’s kits to stop being so overbearing. At the sound of protests, he fixed the kits with an icy glare. “Now.”

“Okay, uncle Jayfeather,” Hollykit finally murmured and, hearing no other response than the shuffling of moss as the kits lay down, he turned and exited the nursery before heading to the medicine den for some much needed quiet.

…

Hollykit watched as her uncle left, waiting for him to be out of earshot before turning to her littermates. “He’s crankier than a badger!” she whispered.

Sorrelkit and Fernkit giggled quietly in response. Eyes gleaming mischievously, her sister stood up, quietly so as not to disturb Daisy who lay in the corner. “Yeah, so what d’ya say we do something to get back at him?” Sorrelkit whispered, brown tail whisking back and forth through the air.

Hollykit tilted her head in confusion. “Like what? Sneak into the medicine den? Or maybe scatter herbs everywhere? ‘Cause I don’t think he’d like that.”

“No, you furball! I say we sneak out of camp!” Sorrelkit replied, flicking Hollykit over the ear with her paw.

“We can’t do that, what if we get caught?!” Fernkit squeaked, eyes wide and bright golden fur bushed out.

“Shh!” Sorrelkit hissed, her tail covering Fernkit’s mouth as she glanced over to the cream she-cat in the corner. Hollykit craned her neck up to look over her sister and, confirming that Daisy was indeed still asleep, looked back to her siblings.

Sitting up, Hollykit thought it over, drowning out Fernkit’s protests and Sorrelkit’s attempts to convince him of her idea. Finally making up her mind, Hollykit shook out her black fur, a habit she had taken from Jayfeather. “I think it’ll be fun,” she finally said, her littermates turning back to her at her voice. Sorrelkit’s blue eyes glowed with triumph as Fernkit continued to feebly wail in protest, before realising he was beaten and quieting down with a huff.

“Let’s go then!” Sorrelkit squeaked, bouncing slightly before heading to the mouth of the den.

Hollykit leaped after her and, sighing, Fernkit followed a heartbeat later. “This is still a dumb idea, we’ll be in so much trouble,” she heard him mumble.

Choosing to ignore her brother’s grumbling, Hollykit padded quietly out into the clearing, being careful to stay to the edge of the hollow. Sorrelkit was just a few paces ahead, and she could feel Fernkit’s breath on her tail as the three kits edged around the edge of the hollow. Thornclaw’s silhouette was visible at the camp entrance, keeping watch outside but not turning around to look inside at the kits.

Slowly and carefully, the three kits padded around the outskirts and finally made it to the dirtplace.Wrinkling her nose at the foul smell, Hollykit followed her sister through the side tunnel and out into the forest.

“Woah…” she whispered, staring around at the trees and bushes. Sorrelkit’s tail was pointed straight up and fluffed out, her ears twitching at every sound, whilst Fernkit’s gaze flickered around the landscape, eyes wide and legs quivering. The forest was covered in moonlight, giving everything a silver hue, and the stars gleamed high above their heads.

“Okay, where do we go now?” Hollykit asked, green eyes wide as she turned back to her sister.

For a moment Sorrelkit didn’t respond, but before Hollykit could ask again, she started padding away. “This way!” she replied, turning her head to make sure her littermates were following before racing ahead.

The three siblings raced through the undergrowth, laughing as they chased each other, and even Fernkit seemed to have let go of his worries and was joyfully tackling his sisters.

Yet they were unaware that the gathering patrol had returned just as they left, their parents heading to the nursery that held nothing but an empty nest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter up! I got the motivation to finally type it when I saw that skrs-cats on tumblr had listed it with some recommended fics on their account, and basically I almost fainted in Ikea. Happy St. Patrick's day to me haha. Okay, now on to the chapter and I hope you enjoy!

Lionblaze padded into the camp, the thorn barrier brushing against his golden fur. Cinderheart walked beside him, beautiful smoky-grey pelt turned silver in the moonlight that reflected in her clear blue eyes.

He swore his heart stopped everytime she glanced his way, as though butterflies were swarming his stomach, making him feel dizzy yet warm and fuzzy because she had chosen HIM of all cats, and now they had a family as beautiful as their mother who stood by his side despite everything.

As though she had read his mind, Cinderheart fixed him with her blue gaze. “What are you staring at, mouse-brain?” she teased affectionately.

“You, obviously,” he responded cheekily. He laughed as Cinderheart bumped her shoulder against his, grins on both of their faces. “I wonder how the kits are?” he wondered aloud.

“Let’s go find out!” Cinderheart replied, already bounding across the clearing towards the nursery.

Lionblaze leaped after her, but before they were halfway across the camp, Daisy appeared at the entrance and frantically raced over to them.

“Oh thank StarClan you’re here, I was sure they were asleep I swear, I woke up when I heard everyone come back and I-”

“Woah, woah, slow down,” Cinderheart soothed, though Lionblaze could see the anxiety hidden in her eyes, “What happened?”

Taking a deep breath, Daisy flickered her panicked gaze between them before responding. “The kits, they’re gone!” she wailed.

Lionblaze froze, barely registering Cinderheart’s horrified “What?!” and Daisy’s apologetic wailing over the blood rushing in his ears. The only thought running through his mind was that his kits were gone and that he didn’t know what to do other than stand in silence, numb to the reality of the situation that his kits could be hurt or dead.

“What is all the wailing about?” Jayfeather snapped, breaking Lionblaze from his trance. 

“The kits are gone…” Lionblaze said, voice barely above a whisper. “Why weren't you there? I told you to look after them!” Anger was quickly taking control, making his blood boil more than it had in moons, not since he had trained with Tigerstar and Hawkfrost or when he had realised his parents were not who he thought they were. But this was a different kind of anger, it was built out of worry and a thinly veiled attempt to mask his grief.

“I told them to go to sleep because I had things to do!” Jayfeather snapped back, though he still backed away slightly, ears flat against his head. Lionblaze could see flashes of guilt in his brother’s eyes, but he was too worried and furious to care.

“I gave you one job, and you couldn’t even do that? For StarClan’s sake, my kits are in danger because you couldn’t be bothered to put up with them for one night!” Lionblaze stood bristling in front of his brother, who stared back at him defiantly, though his tail twitched nervously and his head had lowered.

By this point the majority of the clan were watching the feud, whispering amongst each other or standing in shocked silence.

Lashing his tail, Lionblaze glared at his brother. They stood there like that for several moments, before Cinderheart appeared by his side. Determination glowed in her eyes, masking her panic and frustration with the situation. “This fighting isn’t helping anyone, we should be organising how to find our kits,” she said sternly.

Realising she was right, Lionblaze sighed and let his fur lay flat. As he turned away, Jayfeather raced past him towards the thorn barrier and out of camp, ears twitching and pawsteps urgent.

Shaking his head, Lionblaze tried to concentrate more on what to do rather than is frustration with his brother. Bramblestar and Squirrelflight were rapidly organising patrols to search for the kits, Leafpool pacing anxiously beside them before she raced towards the medicine den. Lionblaze didn’t want to think about what she may be preparing herbs for, and instead stood amongst his clanmated with Cinderheart to hear where they would be searching.

As the groups dispersed, Lionblaze and Cinderheart began to briskly walk to the thorn barrier with Cloudtail, Blossomfall, and Brackenfur. But before he could walk more than a few pawsteps, he heard a voice call him.

“Lionblaze, can you come back here a second?” Bramblestar said. At Cinderheart’s nod, Lionblaze padded back to his leader, who shuffled his paws slightly.

‘Fernkit got that from him’ Lionblaze thought to himself, before a sharp slice of grief cut through him at the thought he may never do so again.

Bramblestar’s voice cut him from his thoughts, “We should have left more cats in camp to keep it better guarded, I know that now. But I promise you, we’ll find your kits.” His amber eyes glowed with worry and affection, and Lionblaze was again left in awe of the cat who had raised him as his own, and who he still considered his father. 

“I know,” he meowed quietly, pressing his head against the brown tabby’s shoulder briefly before racing back to his mate and the rest of the patrol. Cinderheart’s fur brushed his side as the five cats kept their ears alert for any sound of the three kits, their steps quick and urgent. Lionblaze looked up to the sky, where dawn was just beginning to break. “We’ll find you,” he whispered, hoping with all his might that they weren’t too late. “I promise.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... that Lost Stars preview huh? I'm not going to say any spoilers (even though by this point practically everyone knows) but I'm currently in a state of denial. But let me say this; I haven't read Crowfeather's trial, so I don't know his current relationshiip with ThunderClan except for that he's apparently on decent terms with Lionblaze and Jayfeather still isn't fond of him, so please no spoilers as I do plan on reading it in the future. Anyway, onto the chapter!

Panting, Sorrelkit slowed as she reached the edge of the lake. The waves lapped against her paws, and a breeze from the mooreland ruffled her fur, pressing her whiskers against her cheeks.

Hollykit pressed against her side, staring across the fields, whilst Fernkit hung back by the trees, tail twitching nervously.

“Yuck!” Hollykit exclaimed, her nose scrunched up and eyes glaring across the moore. “That stinks! What IS it?”

Sorrelkit breathed in through her nose, an unfamiliar scent invading her senses that left her gagging and scrunching up her own face.

“WindClan, obviously,” Fernkit piped up behind them. His eyes were darting around the landscape, ears swivelling and muscles tense, as though he were waiting for something to jump out at them. “We shouldn’t be here,” he said, “We’ve seen enough, let’s go home.”

“No way!” Sorrelkit replied. “We’ve come this far, we can’t just leave now!”

“No, Sorrelkit, he’s right,” said Hollykit, voice quiet and cautious.

“What are you both, mice?” Sorrelkit replied hotly, glaring at her littermates. “Fine! Go back if you want, but I’M gonna explore!” Ignoring their protests, Sorrelkit leaped forward and past the border markers. A heartbeat later she heard two sets of pawsteps follow close behind as her sibling followed. ‘Figures’ she though, grinning smugly.

The three kits were only a short way past the border before a voice called from nearby.

“Stop!” it said. A silhouette of a dark-furred cat came racing towards the three frozen kits, pelt outlined by the lowering moon. Sorrelkit could feel her blood run cold as the figure gradually drew nearer, her brown fur bushed up and blue eyes wide.

Fernkit and Hollykit looked just as she felt, panic swirling in their eyes as they stood staring at the dark cat. “Are they going to kill us?!” her sister squealed in horror. Fernkit seemed to petrified to speak, his golden fur spiked up as he crouched on the ground, ears drawn back and legs shaking.

“I hope not,” Sorrelkit responded, but before she could say anything else the cat was in front of them. It was a dark grey tom, with dark blue eyes that glittered with suspicion, though Sorrelkit thought she could see a gleam of confusion hidden there, too.

“What are you doing on WindClan territory?” he demanded, looking down at the three kits, his tail lashing back and forth.

Realising that Fernkit was too terrified to respond, and that Hollykit had stepped back to leave her at the front of their patrol of kits, Sorrelkit tilted her head up to look directly into the older tom’s eyes. “Exploring,” she replied, “And why are you out so late?”

For a moment the warrior looked taken aback at her brash tone, before he narrowed his eyes and crouched down to her height. “That’s none of your business, now what are three ThunderClan kits doing outside their camp at night?” he hissed at her, sitting up once more.

Before Sorrelkit could respond, Hollykit darted forward. “We’re sorry!” she squeaked, “We just wanted to see outside of the camp, and the forest, and we heard the lake was really pretty at night, and the gathering meant that our parents were away and we could get out, so when our uncle Jayfeather left us in the nursery we-”

“Hold on,” the dark tom interrupted. “Your… uncle, Jayfeather?”

“Yup!” Sorrelkit replied, shoving her sister back to prevent Hollykit from rambling again. “The grumpiest cat in all the clans is our dad’s brother, what has that got to do with anything?”

“You’re Lionblaze’s kits?” The tom sounded as though her were putting pieces together, before his eyes lit up in recognition. “Do… do you want to know who I am?” he asked, suddenly appearing mildly uncomfortable and almost… nervous?

“Uh, I guess?” Sorrelkit replied, Hollykit nodding her head enthusiastically whilst Fernkit continued to stare at the ground, though a slight tilt of his head signified his agreement with his sisters.

“Do you happen to recognise the name Crowfeather?” he said, eyes guarded but glimmering with, was that hope?

Before Sorrelkit could respond, her brother snapped his head up. “I’ve heard of you before,” Fernkit said, trying to appear small once again as everyone turned to him, “Bramblestar and Squirrelflight mentioned you before, uh, and so did the elders, about the journey to the Sundrown place. And dad told us about you too, of course, that we had kin in WindClan, but um, I didn’t think we’d actually get to meet you so soon, y’know?”

“Well then,” Crowfeather said, eyes still shining with disbelief, “I guess we’d better get you three home though, your parents will be worried.”

Springing to their paws, the three kits began to follow Crowfeather back to the ThunderClan border. As they got closer, Fernkit gasped as the bushes rustled, before Jayfeather appeared, looking disgruntled. As he scented the four cats, his thin grey tabby fur stood on end and his expression quickly turned from almost-worried to infuriated in a heartbeat.

“Oh, StarClan, we’re in trouble,” Hollykit whispered miserably.

“I told you,” Fernkit hissed, voice trembling as they got steadily nearer to their furious uncle. “We’re dead!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that that was decent? Comments are very much appreciated on what you think, and I'd say there's maybe one or two chapters left of this. Have a good day/night!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second last chapter! I'm really enjoying writing this series, but I could definitely do with some ideas of what you would maybe like to see next for these furballs haha. Nothing much more to say other than that I hope you enjoy!

Jayfeather raced out of camp, his clanmates’ eyes burning his pelt. Lionblaze had glared at him for what felt like moons but couldn’t have been more than a few heartbeats, having a standoff in the centre of the clearing. 

‘StarClan forsaken kits’ Jayfeather thought to himself, though he couldn’t stop the twinge of guilt at the back of his mind, that if only he had stayed with them they wouldn’t have escaped.

Shaking his head to rid himself of the self-doubt, he made his way around the outside of the camp, focusing on finding where the dirtplace tunnel was. He wrinkled his nose as the pungent scent of dirt neared, and attempted to find the scent of the three kits. If they had gotten out of camp without being noticed, it was likely going to be out that tunnel, and their scents should still remain in the area.

‘There!’ Around the leaves of a bush, Fernkit’s scent practically covered the smell of the leaves. Padding forward, Jayfeather felt a small tuft of fur brush his muzzle, likely tugged out from the brambles.

The scent trail led through the trees and towards the lake, occasionally drifting towards a tree or under bushes before joining the main track again. ‘They’ve probably woken up every piece of prey in their path,’ Jayfeather thought. He kept his senses alert, hoping to hear the kits scuffling in leaves or racing each other, but all he heard was the silence of the moonlit forest.

Trying to stifle his growing panic at the thought of what fate could have befallen the kits, he started walking even faster and held his head closer to the ground to keep track of the trail. Brambles tugged at his legs as he passed, but he was too focused and worried to notice, barely acknowledging as he tripped on a tree root. The dull aches were nothing in comparison to the burning in his stomach, the paranoia as to what could have happened to his brother’s kits that he had been put in charge of keeping safe and why hadn’t he just stayed with them-

He let out a low wail at the thought, eyes shut tightly as he stood trembling in the middle of the silent forest, nothing interrupting the dark images presenting themselves in his mind. Images of three mangled bodies, too small to be met with such a cruel fate, coated in blood and eyes staring sightlessly into the sky, before switching to the angry glares of his clanmates, his brother at the head. 

‘I’m sorry!’ he wailed silently, watching as vision-Lionblaze hissed and glared furiously at him, Cinderheart and Squirrelflight and Leafpool and Bramblestar shaking their heads at him, eyes narrowed and unforgiving.

The sounds of voices cut him from his thoughts, and he realised how close he was to the WindClan border. Taking in large gulps of air, Jayfeather began to pad forward, trying to figure out what the voices were saying. There was a low voice, a tom probably, with some smaller voices-

“Oh thank StarClan,” he said aloud, immediately picking up his pace. As he pushed through the bushes, the relief was quickly replaced by anger. Now that he knew they weren't dead, he was ready to kill them himself for causing so much trouble.

“There you three are!” he snapped, his fur standing on end as he glared in their direction. “Do you have any idea how much trouble you have caused? Everyone has been worried sick!”

The three kits whimpered at his tone, before the other cat stepped forward. “Jayfeather,” he said, his tone guarded and on edge.

Narrowing his eyes, Jayfeather gazed in the tom’s direction. “Crowfeather,” he responded icily, “So, you found these three troublesome kits?”

“Yes, I did, and from what I’ve heard you were the one meant to be taking care of them, am I correct?” Crowfeather rasped.

Ignoring the question, Jayfeather held his head higher to appear taller and stared at his father coldly, “Well, we’d best be off,” he said. Turning back to the kits, he fixed his sightless gaze on them, “I believe these three have some explaining to do.”

“Very well,” Crowfeather sighed, “Say hello to Lionblaze for me, and tell him he has three wonderful kits.” 

As he padded away, Sorrelkit called back to him. “Goodbye, grandpa Crowfeather! We promise not to explore inside your territory again!”

Choosing to ignore what the kit had called the WindClan cat, he turned and began walking back into the forest. The three kits stayed silent the whole journey, Fernkit letting out the occasional whimper. Jayfeather almost felt bad for them, after all, he and his littermates had caused a fair amount of mischief when they were young, too. Grief pricked his heart as he thought about his sister, when the three of them were happy, and the only worries on their minds being if there was enough feathers in their nest to play with.

‘Stop it, those days are over,’ he scolded himself. The ground smoothed underpaw, signifying that they were near the camp. The three kits’ paws had begun to drag on the ground, exhausted from their night of adventure. Birds had begun chirping as dawn neared, awakening in their nests as the cats padded along, Fernkit sleepily humming along.

As they walked through the thorn barrier, Jayfeather realised that most cats had returned from their searching, an air of worry sparking around the camp. When the three kits padded in behind him, several cats came racing up, relieved purrs echoing around.

Cinderheart and Lionblaze were at the head, pulling their kits close and mumbling incoherently. Too tired to argue, the three kits let their clanmates smother them, only Sorrelkit letting out a weak wail of protest.

His own weariness suddenly making itself know, Jayfeather padded around the crowd of cats and back towards the medicine den. He was the only one there, Leafpool and Briarlight presumably outside with the rest of the clan. Jayfeather settled down into his nest and wrapped his tail over his nose, the exhaustion of the night’s events causing him to fall into unconsciousness almost immediately.


	5. Chapter 5

Lionblaze woke up the next morning curled around Cinderheart and his kits, who were all lumped in a fluffy ball of fur. Fernkit occasionally shifted in his sleep, and Sorrelkit’s loud snores drowned out the small snuffles Cinderheart made. Smiling to himself, Lionblaze slowly unraveled himself from his family, freezing when Hollykit drowsily opened her eyes.

“Dad, where are y’goin’?” she murmured, blinking sleepily as she gazed up at him, her fur sticking out in clumps and a tuft springing up at the top of her head. 

Chuckling to himself, Lionblaze leaned down and licked her between the ears, taming the tuft only slightly. “Go back to sleep, little one, I’m just going out,” he replied.

“M’kay,” Hollykit yawned, tucking her paw back over her muzzle and drifting off back to sleep almost immediately.

Padding out into the clearing, Lionblaze was greeted with the harsh rays of sunhigh, a breeze ruffling his fur. The sky was clear, only occasional wisps of cloud blocking the sun’s rays that shone down on the camp. Bramblestar and Squirrelflight lay underneath the highledge, watching as two of the newest warriors, Ambermoon and Dewnose, carried a sparrow and a vole over to the elders den, where Greystripe was sprawled out on his side, Millie smoothing down her fur. 

Despite it being early leaf-fall, the weather had yet to turn int biting cold, and so those who weren't on patrols shared tongues around the edge of the hollow. Leafpool was laying out leaves in front of the medicine den to dry in the sunlight, and raised her tail in greeting when she saw him. Smiling back and dipping his head in response, Lionblaze arched his back in a stretch before sitting down and attempting to smooth down his own unruly pelt, clumps of moss trapped in the tufts.

Just as he finished smoothing down the last tangle at the base of his tail, Jayfeather padded into camp, a bundle of herbs in his jaws. As soon as he saw his brother, Lionblaze switched his gaze in the opposite direction. His anger still bubbled underneath the surface at the medicine cat’s carelessness, but at the same time he felt guilt at how he had treated him the night before.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lionblaze saw Jayfeather quickly change his direction so he was as far away as possible, his pace quickening as he walked around the clearing. ‘Was I too harsh?’ Lionblaze thought to himself, glaring down at his paws. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn’t notice Cinderheart come up behind him.

“Go talk to him,” she said, pressing her fluffy grey pelt against his golden fur, “You both have to talk this over.” She gazed up at him with blue eyes full of wisdom and love, before making her way over to where Poppyfrost had beckoned her over at the other side of the camp. “Think about it, at least!” she called back to him.

‘StarClan, why does she always have to be right,’ he thought begrudgingly, his tail whisking along the ground. Taking a deep breath, Lionblaze began to pad towards the medicine den, acknowledging Leafpool with a small nod as she mewed a greeting.

The den was dark in comparison to the light outside, leaving him squinting in the gloom as he waited for his eyes to adjust. Briarlight lay in her nest, occasional snores letting him know she was asleep. 

“What is is?” Jayfeather’s voice grumbled from the back, not turning in Lionblaze’s direction. “Come to shout some more?” His grey tabby fur was ruffled and covered in herb dust and pieces of herbs, his ears laying flat against his head as his tail whipped back and forth across the den floor.

Gulping, Lionblaze padded towards his brother. “No, I actually think we should talk,” he said.

“Hmph, you mean Cinderheart wants us to talk?” Jayfeather snapped back. “She’s already talked to me about it, before you got up, but fine. Let’s go into the forest, though, I don’t want to wake Briarlight.” Standing, Jayfeather turned and stalked past him and out of the den, leaving Lionblaze to scramble out after him.

They walked through the forest in tense silence before making it to a clearing. Jayfeather sat down, curling his tail neatly over his paws as he stared blankly at Lionblaze. They both sat there for several moments, neither making a move to talk, before Lionblaze let out a defeated sigh.

“Look, I’m sorry for making a scene in front of everyone,” he started, “But I’m still mad that you left my kits alone when I specifically asked you to look after them.”

Jayfeather continued to glare at him, before slumping slightly and closing his eyes tightly. “I told them to go to sleep, it’s not my fault they didn’t listen.”

“But you were supposed to stay with them,” Lionblaze persisted, “I told you to spend time with them because Cinderheart and I wanted to have one night together, could you really not deal with taking care of your kin for such a short amount of time?” It was taking a great amount of effort to keep himself from lashing out at his brother again, Cinderheart’s voice echoing in his head about how if he lost his temper, nothing would be solved. 

He was breathing deeply while he waited for his brother to explain himself, the tabby appearing smaller as every moment passed. “I… I’m sorry,” Jayfeather finally choked out. “I didn’t think they’d do anything so stupid, I thought they had enough sense to just go to sleep and wait for you to come home, but apparently not and now we’re in this mess and I just…” he trailed off, head bent towards the ground. “I’m just glad they’re safe.”

Lionblaze felt a sharp prick of guilt at how angry he had gotten, and though he was still frustrated at his brother’s actions, he couldn’t help but agree with the last statement. “So am I,” he whispered, just loud enough for his brother to hear. “They’re kinda like us when we were young, huh?” he chuckled.

Jayfeather looked back up at him, “Yeah,” he grumbled, though a small smile was beginning to form on his face at the memories. “Sneaking out of camp to hunt fox cubs, what in StarClan’s name were we thinking?” he finished with a short laugh.

“I really don’t know,” Lionblaze grinned back, making his way to his brother’s side and pressing his pelt against the short grey tabby fur. “It seemed like a good idea at the time, I guess.”

They stayed like that for a while, exchanging memories from when they were young and dumb, reminiscing on what life was like before it all fell apart at a single lightning strike, and from when they were still a trio of mischief-causing kits with promising futures. 

Eventually Jayfeather stood up, shaking his thin fur out and by extension covering Lionblaze in herb dust. 

“Hey!” Lionblaze protested, playfully swatting his brother over the ear in retaliation. “I just groomed that this morning!”

“You weren’t up until sunhigh!” Jayfeather responded, his eyes gleaming and tone teasing. “Now come on, we’re probably needed back at camp.”

The walk back to camp was much less tension filled as the two brother’s joked. When they made it into the clearing, Jayfeather made his way back to the medicine den, flicking his tail over Lionblaze’s ear as he walked past.

“Goodbye, mouse-brain,” he grumbled.

“Bye, Jay!” Lionblaze responded, laughing as Jayfeather shot him a glare at the nickname. As he turned towards the nursery, his three kits came racing over, Cinderheart close behind but at a much slower pace.

Lionblaze purred as he was tackled by the kits, brushing his muzzle against Cinderheart’s as she neared. “I told you so,” she said cheekily, pointedly glancing in the direction of the medicine den, where Leafpool and Jayfeather were helping Briarlight with her exercises.

“Yeah, yeah, you were right,” Lionblaze droned, his mate’s whiskers twitching in amusement.

“Of course I am, I know all,” she teased, eyes glowing with affection and a smug grin on her face.

Rather than responding, Lionblaze pulled her down with him and their kits, Sorrelkit immediately pouncing on her mother’s back. “Hey, dad, did we ever tell you where we went?” she chirped.

Thinking it over for a moment, Lionblaze realised that the kits had been too tired the night before to tell them anything. “No,you never did.”

Hollykit leaped up, and Lionblaze had to internally brace himself for the inevitable onslaught from his daughter. “Oh, we saw so much! First there was the forest, and then we did some races, and then we got to the lake, and aunt Poppyfrost was right when she said the lake was really pretty at night, you can see every star! But then Sorrelkit wanted to go further, and me and Fernkit said no, but she didn’t listen, so we ended up going into WindClan territory and-”

“Hey, don’t blame me!” Sorrelkit squeaked at her sister, brown fur bristling with indignation. “It’s not my fault you two followed!”

“Well, what happened in WindClan territory?” Cinderheart asked, effectively preventing the two she-kits from continuing the argument.

“We met grandpa Crowfeather, that’s what!” Sorrelkit chimed.

Fernkit chose that moment to reappear from underneath Lionblaze’s tail, bright golden fur sticking up in all directions. “He said to tell you hi,” he murmured.

“And that we’re wonderful kits!” Hollykit boasted, green eyes shining.

“Is that so?” Lionblaze chuckled, making a mental note to thank Crowfeather at the next gathering. “Well, I suppose he’s not wrong, he just left out how troublesome you three are!”

He was again buried underneath the fur of the kits as they pounced in retaliation, and at that moment he realised how truly lucky he was that they were in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S DONE IT'S DONE IT'S DONE IT'S DOOONE!!!
> 
> Aaahhh I think this little chaptered thing actually turned out well? It's the only one that has had some semblance of a plot and again I want to thank Featherlove for the initial idea, I really enjoyed writing it and experimenting with different POV's for this. I am always accepting more ideas on what I should write next for the Uncle Jayfeather series, and comments are very much appreciated so I know what you guys think. 
> 
> Have a good day/night!


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